So the post I made previously, number 54, was aimed more towards those who live out in the rural areas. What about those who live in the city and smoke cigarettes? So I took one of the photos I had from when I went to NYC for the weekend, and tried to do the same thing but aim it towards a more urban environment.
Notice the difference between this image and the last?
Location of course is the obvious one, but even though they are basically the same routine, with this one I added “an electronic cigarette” as opposed to the other one.
Why?
I feel that people who live in the city are more gadget oriented and would be more open to the idea of finding a cigarette that they can smoke indoors. A lot of cities in the US have outlawed smoking indoors, so this would help lure them back in because we all know that electronic cigarettes are traceless and less offensive.
For those who live in rural areas, the idea of an electronic cigarette may be a bit too abrasive, so I think it would be best to let them find out themselves. People who live in rural areas, most of the cigarette smoking they do takes place in the home, or out on the country road while driving in their car. They do not have to worry about not being allowed to smoke somewhere because they have plenty of space to smoke their cig, as opposed to those who live in NYC.
If we leave out the “electronic” element for those who live in the country, then they may think it is simply a different blend and decide to try it out one day.

I really like this idea of Marlboro Sky becoming a sort of protector of the environment, but not like in a hippie sort of way, but in a way where Marlboro Sky wants to protect America. That approach sits a lot better (politically) with some people other than pushing environmentalism.

So for this segment I took a picture from my trip to Texas, and added a “message” that Marlboro Sky would like to convey to you.
Now the approach of the cigarette is different, and the Marlboro Sky cigarette no longer is seen as a predatory cancer-inducing product but more of a favor. A favor Philip-Morris made to America and it’s faithful Marlboro clients. In an earlier post I discussed how Philip-Morris is now seen as scurvy business who just want your money and don’t care about cancer, but this ad now makes them seem like they care.
They care about the environment, not because they are hippies, but because they love America as much as you love their brand. So it makes it seem as if they did you, and this country as a whole, a HUGE favor.

So I decided to roam around Richmond and give you all a list of places where you can find your inner cowboy…

Restaurants & Bars:
– The Alamo
– McCormick’s Whiskey Grill
– The Well (formerly CousCous but reopened with an Americana feel)
– The Village
– Portrait House
– NY Deli

Shopping Places:
– Halcyon
the only vintage store I know that will hunt you down a pair of original cowboy boots from back in the day.
– Rumors (they have a few Americana items)
– Mongrel, carries houseware that can be considered “country”

For the final installment of Cocktail of the Week, I am not going to dedicate this drink to a veteran smoker, but more to something that involves smoking. We all are familiar with the “after-love-making” scenes in movies, where they show the couple smoking cigarettes while wrapped up in sheets. A lot of times I notice very blatant product placement, like in Mad Men whenever Donald Draper, played by Jon Hamm, smokes his after-session cigarette he reaches for his pack of Lucky Strikes. From Camel, even to our beloved Marlboro, I have seen all brand names waiting on the side table.
So what if we stuck a Marlboro Sky cigarette in their hands? What would that do? I think it would help allow people to visualize this bizarre electronic cigarette as something that is just as useful as a regular cigarette. It is not just for those who are trying to quit, but it is for anybody who needs their nicotine kick but without all the hassle of buying packs regularly or inhaling that much pollution.

So for this cocktail of the week I am not inventing a new drink, I am going to show you how to make a classic drink in honor of the classic movie & television scene I just talked about..

How to make “Between the Sheets”you will need…
– brandy
– Bicardi Rum
– Cointreau
– a lemon
So once you have gathered all of your ingredients, you will need to grab your cocktail shaker and fill it with ice. The take 1 oz of Bicardi white rum, and 1 oz of Cointreau, and 1 oz of the brandy of your choice. In this case I chose to use Christian Brothers brandy, it is a nice mid-shelf liquor that neutralizes the other sweeter elements of the drink.
After adding the first three ingredients, take a lemon, slice it in half and juice it into the shaker. For this recipe, DO NOT add the pulp.
Shake all ingredients vigorously and strain into a martini glass.
Once you have strained the drink into a martini glass, garnish the drink with a little ribbon of lemon & there you go!
This drink is a sexy classic, just like Marlboro.

In one of my earlier posts, I created a huge replica of the classic Marlboro Red Box of cigarettes and added lights and turned it into a lamp. I really liked that idea and decided to revisit it for my next post, but instead I would use the new Marlboro Sky box design. I figured this would be an awesome piece for the furniture collection, and would really push the whole “Americana” aspect of the brand.
In order to create the same type of lighting I followed the same process that I did before.
I had to flip the box over and put a bunch of lights inside of it.
It took time to make sure all the lights worked and that I wasn’t breaking one while in the process of shoving them all into that tiny cramped space.
Look how magical it is! I think these light up cigarette boxes are pretty nifty, and they do go well with the brand because I can see them hanging in a bar where somebody who smokes would definitely go to.

Well I was absent for a few days during this semester, but one of my absences was caused by quick trip out to real life Marlboro Country…Del Rio, Texas & Bracketville, Texas.
Bracketville is famous for being the location where they built the set and filmed the famed John Wayne movie The Alamo. The set still stands to this day, and 45 minutes to about an hour away from it you will arrive at Del Rio. Del Rio is an area where retired oil money people, lawyers, and high-ranking military servicemen go to retire. Both areas are secluded and known for being places filled with Wild West History involving territory scuffles with Mexico. This area inspires me because it is where many westerns were filmed, and if it were not for those infamous movies, the Marlboro Cowboy ads would not have a backbone.
If you hop in your car, about close to 2-3 hours away you will arrive at Big Bend national park, which was protected by FDR as one of his New Deal efforts to conserve and create park jobs.

All the locations photographed happen to be MILES AND MILES UPON MILES from each other, so if you run out of cigarettes…stopping by the “nearest” gas station won’t be an easy task.
Also, these areas are untouched by a lot of grubby corporations, the land was purchased by all the filthy rich people in order to stay in-tact & keep them secluded. The people who live in these areas are big on cleaning up after yourself, and what I mean is that even though these people may smoke cigarettes, they pick the butt up and throw it away in a trash can. I mean who could blame them for wanting to protect this beautiful land?
I went to out here the first or second weekend of class, just to visit my grandma and escape. I took so many pictures that it took me a while to go through the ones that I thought would actually be useful for the project. Then after I chose a set, I had to photo-edit them. I wanted to make sure that you as the viewer were equally as stunned by these images as I was stunned when I was there in person.

This area is the real Marlboro Country, this is the Americana we are looking for. I made sure to keep one prominent element in all the pictures…and that element is the sky.